The city of Cannes is situated in a very beautiful place: it is an ancient settlement founded by the Ligurs on the coast of the Bay of Napoule, where the massif of Esterel comes close. Cannes is a prestigious holiday destination on the Côte d’Azur. The city is surrounded by hills to the north, due to which it enjoys a mild temperate climate. In Cannes there are famous festivals. Among them the most popular is the Cannes International Film Festival. Cannes is always full of tourists from all over the world. Historical facts The date of the founding of the city is not accurately established, because until 1834 it was little known. In that year, the former English Chancellor Lord Bregham stopped in the city, forced to cut short his journey to Italy because of a cholera epidemic. Lord Bregham was so enchanted by the mild climate, the blue skies, and the beauty of the town that he decided to build a house here, which he visited every winter. From King Louis-Philippe the lord received funds to build a dam near the old town. Many English aristocrats followed Lord Bragham’s example. Over time, the city grew and became a world-renowned center of tourism.
Cannes was once a peaceful fishing village with a long history associated with the Lerens Islands of St. Margaret and St. Honor, which are located directly opposite the city. One of the islands had a major trading port and a pagan altar. According to the historian Polybius (2nd century B.C.) there appears to have been an ancient settlement of Occibians on the site of present-day Cannes. They were hard working farmers and fishermen who did not shy away from piracy. They raided Antipolis (Antibes today) and Nice, which were colonies of the Greeks of Marseilles at the time. They called on the help of the Romans, who conquered and destroyed Aegithnia.
In 155 BC, the Marseille Greeks built a fortress called Castrum Marcellinum on the site. A few centuries later, the entire Mediterranean coast came under Roman rule. Legend has it that at that time there were two hermit monks in the Esterel Mountains who later settled on the islands of Lero and Lerina (today the islands of Saint Margaret and Saint Honorat). If the same legend is to be believed, the island of Lerina was literally teeming with serpent hells. St. Onora, with God’s help, caused a storm, a huge wave covered the island and washed away all the creepers, which were swallowed up by the depths of the sea. He climbed a palm tree and waited out the flood. The truthfulness of the legend is confirmed by the fact that the monastery’s coat of arms depicts a golden shepherd’s staff surrounded by 2 palm trees.
In the first half of the 8th century, the Saracens seized the Cannes region and held it for many years. In 990, Guillaume Gruyette, second son of the Count of Anjou, seizes the Lerins and annexes the abbey’s lands of Mandelieu, Arluc, Loubet and Cannes. The possessions of the abbots increase and receive, with the blessing of the pope, the right of self-government. While the Saracens still hold the fortress, Abbot Adalbert II strengthens the abbey courtyard and reinforces the security of Cannes, for which the Suquet watchtower is built on Mount Chevalier, which still exists today. The Count of Provence, Raymond Beranger, exempts the town of Cannes from taxes and in 1331, a deed of donation is signed by which the Abbé of Lerins becomes the owner of the ancient fortress of Castrum Marcellinum. Since 1200, it has been called Castrum Canois (Fortress of Cannes).
Despite numerous attempts at independence, the city of Cannes continues to depend on the Abbot of Lerins, to whom the entire coast from Napoule to Vallauris is subordinated. The decline of the Abbey of Léréné falls in the 16th century as the king dispersed piecemeal the island estates belonging to the monks. They went to the Prince of Joinville, the Duke of Vendôme and other nobles. By the end of the 15th century Provence had lost its independence and Louis XI’s army occupied the castle of Cannes. In 1580, an epidemic caused 2/3 of the city’s population to die out, and in 1635 there were clashes between the French and Spaniards in the city. The Spaniards captured the Lerins, but were repulsed when they tried to land on the coast. From the heights of Fort Royal, built on the island of Saint-Marguerite at the time of Cardinal Richelieu, there is a magnificent view of the cities of Cannes, Antibes and the neighboring hills. In the 18th century, Cannes was completely devastated by the constant pillage of the Arabs, the Duke of Savoy and, later, the Austrian army.
Napoleon, who had left the island of Elba, landed at Golfe-Juan in 1815. A detachment of only 40 grenadiers, under the command of Cambron, takes Cannes and Napoleon, encircled by the sand dunes, has to bivouac near the chapel of Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage, before marching on Paris.
